“New SOP to address bauxite pollution in 3 months, says deputy minister”

The Natural Resources and Environmental Ministry will come out with a new standard operating procedure (SOP) to address issues on environmental pollution due to bauxite mining in Kuantan, Pahang in three months' time…

Deputy Minister Datuk Hamim Samuri said…if the operators complied with the new SOP, mining activities and bauxite exports could resume, but environmental conditions should prevail.

At the ministry level, he said mining activities would be accepted as long as they did not pollute the environment or bring about adverse health effects to the people…

He said to curb pollution from such activities, the government had also frozen the issuance of approved permits (AP) for mining operation.